Subpoena SUSAN B. RALSTON. She holds the key to WH e-mail systems, election night '04 and Abramoff.

[seafan]

Representative Waxman, IMHO, Susan B. Ralston should be at or near the top of the subpoena list.


She was Abramoff's assistant immediately prior to becoming KArl Rove's assistant.

She served as White House Liaison to the Bush/Cheney '04 campaign.

She routed extensive communications between Abramoff/associates and Rove.

She has the ultimate knowledge of non-governmental e-mail communications systems used by the White House and outside political operatives and lobbyists.





Susan Ralston with her president



Susan Ralston with her boss, Karl Rove


Susan Ralston and Karl Rove, crunching the numbers on Election Night, 2004.



Susan Ralston's former boss, Jack Abramoff




Where we hope to see Ms. Ralston very soon.

[blm]

1. You NAILED it, seafan.

.

[musette_sf]

2. K&R

:kick:

[helderheid]

3. k & r

[ewagner]

4. Excellent idea! n/t

[Bluestar]

5. This occurred to me over the weekend as well

I agree--she knows where the bodies are buried and is probably low-level enough to actually tell the truth. I doubt that she would be protected by Bushco in any way.

[Robbien]

6. They sure were fast in getting her out of town

when the previous investigation got close to her. An indefinate personal leave if I remember correctly.

You are right, the lady knows stuff.

[Webster Green]

7. That election nite pic really pisses me off every time I see it.

K&R!

[John Q. Citizen]

8. Yes, when was the time frame of her various employments? Where is she now?

[emulatorloo]

16. her wikipedia entry has a timeline n/t

[Qutzupalotl]

38. ...which doesn't show her employment with Abramoff.

Strange, huh?

Wikipedia. How'd they do that?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_B._Ralston

The (white)washingtonpost.com link mentions her ONE time. Once. In a 5-page article about Abramoff. On page 3. In a paragraph laden with bigger fish. She is pivotal.

The article ran on Ralston's birthday, October 15.

[bleever]

9. Yes! And since Rove's top aides were on the subpoena list,

I certainly hope that her name was included, despite her recent "retirement".

Great post.

[caligirl]

10. Jennings as well, he would have key info on the purge and GSA manipulation by Rove.

And the email outside the official WH system.

[bonito]

11. K&R

Great seafan :hi:

[ClayZ]

12. Kick and R

[grasswire]

13. federal marshals oughta be protecting this woman

Remember Baxter.

[emulatorloo]

18. I don;t think Ralston has ever flipped or talked, AFAIK n/t

[EVDebs]

33. Ralston AND Goodling nt

[Justice Is Comin]

14. Damn skippy!!

She was the conduit for all the sewage flowing through the pipes with every principal involved.

I've been saying it for a long time. Glad you're pointing it out again. Never forget that name.

She's a gold mine under oath and pointing out to her the consequences of lying before congress.

[robinlynne]

15. great idea.

[Blackhatjack]

17. I'm betting a lot of Bush/Rove insiders are going to be taking 'indefinite leaves of absence'...

It will be difficult finding all these individuals to serve them with subpoenoes, just like the DOJ Liasion to the White House --she is still employed in her position, but no one knows where she is or when she will return. Right.

I guess she had no idea a Congressional Investigatory Committee would want to question her about her role in the US Attorney firing scandal, and what the White House knew and did not know from her.

[seafan]

19. She's keeping a very low profile lately.

http://www.philippinenews.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=049710c1d2aca35dd7f60678444ffb44">Is Ralston still at the White House?

Cristina DC Pastor and Rita Gerona-Adkins
Oct 22, 2005

SUSAN BONZON RALSTON, presumably the most influential Filipino American in the Bush Administration has reportedly left the White House.

The former Special Assistant to President Bush and deputy to presidential adviser Karl Rove has reportedly moved to the Department of Commerce, Philippine News learned from a source close to Ralston.

Asked for the reason for the transfer, the source quoted Ralston as saying, “Too much pressure (on the job).”

The media office of the Commerce department said they are not making any statement. A White House operator says Ralston remains in the White House roster.

As Rove’s deputy, Ralston is responsible for managing the activities of the Office of the Senior Adviser, including areas related to policy, strategic planning, political affairs, public liaison, and intergovernmental efforts of the White House. Her bio says she is also responsible for the development and production of presidential and major surrogate events.

One of her biggest tasks was providing coordination between the White House and the Bush-Cheney campaign in 2004.

.....

But it looks like Ms. Ralston never actually went to the Department of Commerce:


From Source Watch:

"As presidential adviser Karl Rove set up shop in the West Wing in 2001, he was looking for an assistant to serve as the trusted gatekeeper of his new fiefdom. Superlobbyist and Republican fundraiser Jack Abramoff was happy to lend a hand. Abramoff knew just the right person for the job: his own assistant, Susan Ralston. She interviewed with Rove and got the position," Peter H. Stone wrote in the March 27, 2004, National Journal. "For a staunch conservative and smooth GOP operative like Abramoff, losing a valuable aide was well worth the opportunity to ingratiate himself with the president's senior political adviser."

Ralston "was of course one of many Team Abramoff players who got seconded into the administration. Given the close relationship between Abramoff and Grover Norquist, it's probably not surprising that she also had an arrangement with Norquist in which he gave her direction on who to let through to Rove," Josh Marshall wrote in his Talking Points Memo September 21, 2005.

Marshall, being "a little unclear on whether Ralston still works for Rove," called the White House September 21, 2005, and "was told that she's no longer his 'executive assistant'. When asked what her title was was told only that she now worked for him 'in a different capacity.'"

In December 2005 Cristina DC Pastor and Rita Gerona-Adkins reported in Philippine News.com that Ralston "has reportedly moved to the Department of Commerce, Philippine News learned from a source close to Ralston. Asked for the reason for the transfer, the source quoted Ralston as saying, 'Too much pressure (on the job).' The media office of the Commerce department said they are not making any statement. A White House operator says Ralston remains in the White House roster." <4> This move followed Ralston being compelled to testify before a grant jury into the Plame affair. <5>

If Ralston was at a *new position* the Commerce Department, then why did she resign on October 2, 2006, from her position as "Special Assistant to the President" and "Assistant to Senior Advisor Karl Rove"?



Rove Aide Linked To Abramoff Resigns

October 7, 2006; Page A01

A top aide to White House strategist Karl Rove resigned yesterday after disclosures that she accepted gifts from and passed information to now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, becoming the first official in the West Wing to lose a job in the influence-peddling scandal.

Susan B. Ralston submitted her resignation to avoid causing political damage to President Bush a month before the midterm elections, officials said. "She did not want to be a distraction to the White House at this important time," said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.

.....

So, in the October, 2006 outrage over the Republican Mark Foley child predator scandal, Ms. Ralston quietly leaves her plush White House job for parts unknown. So far....

[seafan]

47. The OTHER Rove aide moved to Commerce ( Israel Hernandez)

2 Aides to Rove Testify in C.I.A. Leak Inquiry

By David Johnston
August 3, 2005

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2 - Two aides to Karl Rove, the senior White House adviser, testified last Friday before a federal grand jury investigating whether government officials illegally disclosed the identity of an undercover C.I.A. operative, according to a person who has been officially briefed on the case.

The aides, Susan B. Ralston and Israel Hernandez, were asked about grand jury testimony given on July 13 by Matthew Cooper, a reporter for Time magazine, the person who was briefed said. Mr. Cooper has said that he testified about a July 11, 2003, conversation with Mr. Rove in which the C.I.A. officer was discussed.

The aides' grand jury appearances were first reported by ABC News and provided the first sign that the prosecutor in the case was interested in following up on Mr. Cooper's testimony with more questions for the White House about Mr. Rove. A person sympathetic to Mr. Rove said that the questions seemed typical of those posed by a prosecutor wrapping up the loose ends of an inquiry.

That person and the one who has been briefed spoke only on the condition of anonymity because the prosecutor has warned people not to discuss the case.

At one point, the aides were asked why Mr. Cooper's call to Mr. Rove was not entered in Mr. Rove's office telephone logs. There was no record of the call, the person who has been briefed said, because Mr. Cooper did not call Mr. Rove directly, but was transferred to his office from a White House switchboard.

The aides have worked closely with Mr. Rove, screening his calls and coordinating his activities with other White House officials. Mr. Hernandez had been an aide to President Bush since his successful campaign for governor of Texas in 1994, and Ms. Ralston is known as one of Mr. Rove's most trusted associates.

Ms. Ralston still works with Mr. Rove, while Mr. Hernandez has moved to the Commerce Department. Telephone calls to their offices on Tuesday were not returned.

.....

[mod mom]

20. But shouldn't she receive Exec Priviledge since her boss was *'s brain?

:sarcasm: SUBPOENA HER SORRY ASS!

[tiptoe]

51. "Executive privilege may not extend to private email accounts provided by the RNC."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=542814&mesg_id=542975

[seafan]

21. Ralston's salary 2004 (67,600); after Election '04 (92,100) She must've done her job....

According to a White House report to Congress, Ralston's salary was $67,600. In an interview last September <2004> with Asian Week, she said that she took a 'significant pay cut' in 2001 from her job working with a prominent lobbyist," Sam Coates reported in the September 13, 2005, Washington Post.

Alexis Simendinger reported on White House Staff salaries in the July 26, 2005, National Journal. At that time, Ralston was shown as "Ralston Susan B. $92,100. Special Assistant to the President & Assistant to the Senior Advisor." There is no accounting for an approximately 25% annual increase in reported salary.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Susan_B._Ralston

[dogday]

22. I think that would be a most excellent idea nt

[Just-plain-Kathy]

23. I tried to recommend this post but got an error message...n/t

[ray of light]

32. me too!

[ooglymoogly]

34. Me too....nt

[Blackhatjack]

24. She is another prime candidate to invoke her 5th Amendment Privilege ...n/t

[hang a left]

25. If anyone deserves immunity it is SR

She even knows the kind of dirt used to bury the bodies.

[stellanoir]

26. She's allegedly strangely gone missing. . .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x507947

How weird is that?

[Disturbed]

27. If she is found and summond will she also plead

the 5th?

[w4rma]

30. Uh oh. (nt)

[Wednesdays]

37. I was about to say, regarding the OP...

That while Waxman is busy serving subpoenas, he should take care that she stays off of small planes.

[Jacobin]

31. I don't think that thread panned out

No one has found confirmation at my last read.

[paparush]

43. Did she go ahunting with Sick Dick?

[ray of light]

28. k and R I need more info on this.

[AnnInLa]

29. And, her attorney is Berenson, Kyle Sampson's attorney

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/3/19/12148/2763

[blm]

42. THAT could be key - we'll see after Sampson testifies.

At this point we don't know if he's going to be as completely honest as they are claiming.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

35. kick

[Hailtothechimp]

36. She probably knows a whole lot of interesting stuff.

Something tells me she'd rot in prison before she'd give Rove up. Which is fine by me. The rotting, I mean.

[bobthedrummer]

39. Here's a valuable Susan Bonzon Ralston link from smirkingchimp.com blogger upu8

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/1440

Fair use cited

[Spiffarino]

40. Any word from Waxman's committee?

You used his pic...just wondering if you heard something. If Ralston knows where all the bodies are hidden, she'll make a great subpoena target.

I'm sending a letter to my brand shiny new Democratic representative. He needs to know about this. :evilgrin:

[epppie]

41. Right on. Find the nodes.

Conspiracies need communicators. Ralston. Libby. Others. These people can play key roles in choking off investigations, but it can go the other way too.

[IWantAChange]

44. The more players the more likely ONE will talk - gotta luv human nature.....

I still remember quite vividly the 100+ hours of testimony under oath that the Repuke Congress obtained from White House officials and staffers concerning the POSSIBLE use of the WH Christmas card list by President Clinton and associates to develop a potential donors list.

KINDA PALES BY COMPARISON DOESN'T IT?????????????????????????

[The Count]

45. I remember reading a glowing profile of her in NYT - summer of 2004

I got from it that she was associated with Cheney as well at one point.
They called her a "mover and shaker"

[EVDebs]

46. Berenson = Ralston's attny ; Goodling's attny Dowd = moneylaundering expert

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=514448&mesg_id=514448

Daily Kos article is MUST READ for DUers ! Demand Berenson and Dowd testify before Congress THEMSELVES.

The Octopus is going down for the count this time...Casolaro and Webb, we thank you for your sacrifice.

[Ilsa]

48. Why does she have her hand on Bush* like that in the

first picture? That looks like a pose from the Engagement section of the newspaper.

[Ino]

49. Wow, stiletto heels & a killer glare (n/t)

[bobthedrummer]

50. Once again-House Oversight Committee: The Abramoff Investigation

WHITE HOUSE contacts (Karl Rove, Susan Bonzon Ralston, Barry Jackson, Ken Mehlman, Ruben Barrales, Jennifer Farley)
http://oversight.house.gov/abramoff/index2.asp

With all the new information (just in the past 96 or so hours) Susan Bonzon Ralston et al. should be prosecuted to the maximum, plus a basis for impeachment of Richard Cheney are rock solid.